November 30, 2005

Machinima responses to the French riots

It's only in wmv format, so far, and plays in the browser. No spoken dialogue, just subtitles (in English) with background music and some sound effects.Formally, it's unusual in having a large number of characters. The majority of machinima I've seen focuses on one or two point of view characters. Given this approach and the subject matter, it reminds me of the social novel, where a host of characters represent multiple social strata. Watercooler Games notes some Sims-based social commentaries as antecedents.

The creator, koulamata, discussed the work on a machinima forum, commenting on the production process, politics, and software. S/he has previously done action videos.

Thinking of the quick production timeline, is this new game, The Movies, emerging as a leading machinima engine? Moreover, will its relative ease of use expand the pool of machinima creators?Comments from The Movies users...?

From my blog entry:
"Obviously it is a statement. It is a moderately good film. It reminds me in many ways of a 3D animated flyer handed out by an anarchist/socialist activist in a public place. The issues are real and many of the points made in the film are very relevant. As a non-euro myself living in "The Europe" I see a lot of what is represented in the film, although not on such an extreme scale. It is the first piece of realist political machinima I have seen. This is something I believe we will see more of."
I found it in .mov format here:http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=1407